


Vows

by wolfraven80



Category: Magical Diary (Visual Novel)
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 20:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17190206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfraven80/pseuds/wolfraven80
Summary: The contract, drawn up in crayon, states that Virginia has to get married when she's eighteen.  They've had a plan since first year: a small, informal ceremony, one that doesn't change anything between them. A non-wedding. But on the day of the non-event Mary arrives at the Dansons' home to find there might be a hitch in the plan.





	Vows

When I step through the arrival gates and see Donald waiting for me instead of Virginia, my heart sinks. It's been almost a month since the end of our third year and I was looking forward to getting off the plane and seeing her standing there with a big grin on her face. I'm so used to seeing her every day at school that it's hard to be apart during summer vacation. Donald's a good friend, but I want my _girlfriend_.

            I plaster a smile on my face and keep walking towards Donald while my brain offers up reasons she might not be here. These include 1) She's decided to call the whole thing off and doesn't want to tell me; 2) She's too sick to drive to the airport; 3) She's decided to elope and Donald is here to redirect me to a different flight; 4) She's been eaten by a dragon; 5) She's decided to give up magic and her family–and me–rather than go through with a wedding ceremony.

            He waves at me as I get closer and he's smiling so I'm guessing she wasn't eaten by a dragon.

            "Hi, Donald," I say once I reach him.

            "Okay so there's a change of plans," he announces, suddenly serious. "We re-read the original crayon contract and it turns out you're going to have to marry me instead."

            "Wh–what?" I stare at him, mouth agape, more confused than the first time I attended one of Grabiner's lectures on trans-thermal Otherworld alchemy.

            Donald reaches out... and tweaks my nose. "Gotcha!" He breaks out into a mad grin. "I totally had you going there."

            I draw in a deep breath and let it out. "I think you just took a solid year off my life."

            He pouts. "What? You don't think I'm marriage material?"

            "Just tell me if she's okay–she's not sick or–"

            "She's fine." He rolls his eyes. "Can you believe Urchin overslept on her own wedding day?"

            A huge breath of relief whooshes out of me. Thank goodness.

            He reaches for one of my bags and jerks his chin towards the closest exit. "Mom sent me to pick you up so you wouldn't be stuck waiting."

            "Thanks," I say, offering a smile. "But remember it's a _non_ -wedding." That's what we've been calling it all year. Thanks to that crayon contract she and Jacob drew up as kids, Virginia has to get married before she turns nineteen and that's coming up soon. But it's just a formality, a thing on paper that doesn't change anything except to meet the demands of that contract. It's a non-event. Thus a non-wedding.

            "A yawn-wedding more like."

            I snort. "It's outdoors so clearly it's a lawn-wedding."

            "As long as it's not a dawn-wedding. There's no way she'd show up for that."

            I can't help but laugh. Donald is 100% on the mark with that one. Virginia doesn't do mornings. She's a log before noon on weekends and has a bad habit of skipping first period on weekdays. I glance at him and grin. "A crayon-wedding."

            He grins back. "And next year it'll be a bygone-wedding."

            _For one year and one day are ye bound._

            That's what I'm agreeing to. A year and a day on paper. A non-wedding.

 

#

 

            When we pull up in front of the big white farmhouse where the Dansons live, Virginia is waiting on the front porch. And even though she kind of stood me up at the airport, I'm just so glad to see her that I start smiling as soon as I step out of the car.

            "Hey, Urchin!" Donald calls out as he unloads my suitcase. "You're in luck. I managed to talk her down and she's still willing to go through with the ceremony."

            Virginia crosses her arms and scowls at him. "Gee thanks. What would I ever do without you?"

            Donald shrugs. "Get cast out of magical society I guess." And then with a little salute, "See ya!" he says, before dashing off into the house.

            And then it's just the two of us, both moving forward to meet halfway and wrap each other up in a tight hug. It's only been a month; it shouldn't feel like it's been ages since I've seen her. But it _does_.

            She's got a hangdog look on her face when she pulls away. "I'm sorry–about the airport I mean. I was up late trying to–"

            "Oh you're here!" I look up to find Virginia's mom on the porch. I met the Dansons for the first time last summer when I stayed over for a couple of weeks during vacation. Virginia laughed when I acted surprised that her mom looks like such a normal mom: mom jeans, frizzy hair just like Virginia's, middle aged. "What were you expecting?" Virginia had asked, "Black robes, a pointy hat, and a broomstick?" I guess maybe I kind of was. But even though her family was a magical one, it didn't really change the basics. They were just like normal parents... who cast spells from time to time.

            I wave. "Hi, Mrs. Danson."

            "You must be tired. We should get you settled in. Virginia, grab one of her bags."

            A sour look crosses Virginia's face but she picks up my overstuffed backpack while I wheel my little suitcase behind me and follow her mom into the house. She leads us up to the second floor to the same guest room I stayed in the last time I was here. It's a small room but there's a dresser, and double bed draped with a soft comforter and heaped with fluffy pillows. It's a total luxury compared to my bed at school.

            Her mom pauses to fluff one of the pillows. "I hope this room's okay. Virginia said–"

            "Oh my gosh, Mom!" Virginia cuts in, even as she buries her face in her hands. "We've talked about this. The guest room is fine."

            She turns and looks from Virginia to me for a few seconds without saying anything. Finally she smiles at me and says, "Let me know if you need anything."

            Virginia sinks down onto the bed and makes a sound that's a combo of growl and groan.

            I sit down next to her and bump my shoulder against hers. "Are you okay?"

            "No. _Ugh_. She wanted to know if you'd be staying in my room. Because of the non-wedding. Even though I told her we aren't–" She looks even more mortified than before as she darts a glance at me. "You know..."

            "Boinking?" I offer with an angelic smile.

            "Eww. That's an awful name for it." She shakes her head. "Anyway I don't know if she doesn't believe me or doesn't get it or what. But she was like 'Are you sure? It's a special occasion after all.'."

            I guess it's hard for most people to get how you can want to date someone, how you can want to be more than friends, but still not want to jump them. It goes against all the conventions society has about love and dating and romance. It's as if sex is the only way to validate a relationship, as if sex is the only thing that makes it real.

            "We make our own rules, remember?" I say, taking her hand in mine and intertwining our fingers. "I'll just have to tell your mom I've taken a solemn oath not to ravish you even on special occasions!"

            "Don't you dare!" she says, but she's laughing now.

            "Come on," I say, getting to my feet and tugging her up along with me. "I need to get my dress unpacked so it's not all wrinkly for the ceremony."

            "About that... I wanted to talk to you–"

            "V! We need you down here!" William's voice sounds close as if he's standing in the hallway, but then I realize he's probably using Farspeak to carry the sound.

            Shaking her head, Virginia gets to her feet. "We should've run off to Vegas." She steps towards the doorway but then pauses and turns back. "I... I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

            I smile and hope it looks reassuring. I haven't seen her this stressed out since we found the contract in the first place back in first year. What if she really is having second thoughts? "Sure."

            It doesn't take me long to unpack. I'll be here for a few weeks so I toss everything into the dresser except for my non-wedding gown, which I hang up in the cupboard. It's the same dress I wore to the dance a few weeks ago. We agreed it didn't make sense for us to buy special clothes for a non-wedding. And we were hoping to keep it as simple as possible. Just her family and Ellen. My family can't know about it because how could I explain the non-wedding without explaining the magical contract that's behind all of this? And we don't want the whole story getting all over school so we're holding the ceremony here. William even got certified so that he could officiate for us.

            I've jut finished putting everything away when I hear a knock against the doorframe. I turn to find Ellen standing in the doorway. I break out into a grin and give her a big hug. "I didn't know you were here already."

            "I arrived last night. How are you doing? Are you nervous?"

            I shrug. "Not really. I mean it's just a ten minute ceremony. It's not going to change anything."

            Ellen gives me a shrewd look, arms crossed. "Yes. _If_ you guys word everything correctly. I thought you wanted me to double check your vows to make sure there weren't any contractual issues."

            That catches me off guard. My mouth feels dry and I lick my lips before I speak. "I thought you'd done that already. Virginia said she was going send you a copy to look at."

            Ellen shakes her head. "She hasn't. She said they weren't finalized."

            My stomach starts doing a jig, like I've got tap dancing butterflies in my belly. Maybe Virginia really is trying to back out. But that would mean giving up her magic, her memories... her _whole life_. "I–I thought there was a set of basic traditional vows we could use."

            "There are," Ellen says with a nod. "The traditional vow is 'I give to you my kindness and my courage'. And the reply is 'I give to you my wisdom and my protection'."

            I'm biting my lip trying to keep from blurting out the stream of worries that's ready to gush out of me. What's wrong with the traditional vows? Am I missing something? Five minutes ago I wasn't nervous about the ceremony. Now? Totally nervous.           

            "It's going to be fine," Ellen assures me. She looks so certain, just like when she's discussing something from class.

            "Are you sure?"

            She crosses her arms over her chest and gives me an incredulous look. "Of course I'm sure. Just avoid using the words 'always', 'forever', 'eternally', or 'never', all right?"

            I nod. "Got it."

            "And if I hear you saying anything that could be undesirably binding I'll just shout 'objection!'."

            That makes me laugh and something in my gut unknots. Thank goodness Ellen is here to keep an eye on things. It's good to know she's got my back. "Thanks. I'd better track Virginia down and get this sorted out."

            Ellen raises an eyebrow. "Remind her it's too late to elope."

 

#

 

I don't get further than the first floor landing before I run into Virginia's dad carrying shopping bags that appear to full of meat. He looks a lot like William except with short hair thinning at the front, but the grin as he spots me is pure Donald. "Hello there. Mind bringing these to the kitchen. There's more in the car."

            "Sure," I say and take the bags of hambuger patties and hot dogs. I drop them off in the kitchen and then wait, hoping Mr. Danson might know where Virginia has gotten off to.

            He arrives in the kitchen with bags of condiments and buns. "We're all stocked up for the barbeque now."

            I tilt my head. "Barbeque? When?"

            "This evening. We wanted to have a little celebration after the wedding."

            I blanch. "But–I–We–wanted to keep it private–the wedding. Non-wedding. The–"

            He puts a hand on my shoulder. "It's fine. The ceremony is just family and no one's going to know about it. As far as everyone else knows the barbeque is just to celebrate your visit. Okay?"

            My shoulders sag with relief. "Okay."

            He starts pulling the meat out of the bags and sorting it into neat stacks. "And while I have the chance, I wanted to say thank you for what you're doing for Virginia."

            And now I can feel the blood running into my face. "I'm just glad I can help."

            "Hard to believe she got herself into so much trouble when she was such a tiny thing," he says with a laugh.

            "Have you seen her? I was just looking for her."

            He jerks his thumb over his shoulder towards the front door. "She was outside a minute ago with William."

            "Thanks," I say and give a little wave before hurrying outside.

            Cicadas hum in a steady drone, but it's overcast and the heat is pleasant today, not overwhelming. Standing on the porch, I peer around. There's no sign of Virginia but William is walking up the driveway and breaks into a wide smile when he spots me. I head down the steps to meet him. He opens his arms and I let him wrap me up in a bear hug. "How's my almost-little-sister doing? It's good to see you."

            I give him a big squeeze before letting go. The last time I saw William was last year when I visited. "It's good to see you too. Virginia told me about your new job. Congrats!" He stands a little straighter and tries to say that it's not a big deal, but he's obviously happy about it. "And thanks so much for presiding today. It means a lot to us."

            "I'm happy to. V says good things about you too in all her letters, you know."

            "It's just school, though, so nothing really exciting happens."

            He flashes a mischievous smile that reminds me that he and Donald really are brothers. "I don't know, I think that incident at the pancake lunch sounds like it was pretty exciting. I'm sorry I wasn't there to see Jacob's face."

            "They never did find out who made that syrup bomb," I say with a laugh.

            "I'm sure they didn't try too hard either," he adds with a wink. And then, back to his serious self, "Are you looking for V?"

            "I was, yeah."

            "I called her out here a few minutes ago. We needed her to take a look at the baskets."

            "Baskets?" I repeat.

            He nods. "You know for the ceremony."

            " _Ohhh_. Right." I shrug. "Sorry. I mean I've read about the ceremony but I've never seen one–I mean a ceremony for a magical family."

            He squeezes my shoulder and gives me a reassuring smile in his classic big brother style. "You'll do fine. Now go find V." He nods over his shoulder in the direction of the yard.

            I find her sitting on a garden swing, one of the big wooden ones that can fit two or three people. She's got her elbows propped up on her knees, her chin resting on her fists. When I sit down next to her she glances my way and opens her mouth like she's about to say something... but then snaps it shut. For a minute we sit there and the only sounds are the cicadas and the creak of the swing as it sways gently back and forth.

            "Is everything okay?" I ask finally.

            "Yes. No. I dunno." She groans.

            "Well that narrows it down." And then, taking a deep breath, "Are you... getting cold feet?"

            "No!" She runs a hand over her face. "No, it's... not that."

            I take her hand. My own is shaking. What if she doesn't want to do this after all? What if she doesn't want... me? "Then what?"

            Her long, dark fingers intertwine with mine. "I couldn't sleep last night. I kept thinking about the vows."

            "Ellen said we could use the traditional ones. They wouldn't be binding for more than a year."

            She shakes her head. "I know but the whole ceremony is about offering and binding, right? So you exchange baskets and then they bind your hands. And it's supposed to mean you're like... bound to what you've offered. And I just kept thinking... What is it I'm offering you?"

            The whole time she's talking she keeps her eyes on her knees. Her brows are bunched up and, sitting close to her, I can feel the tension rippling through her body.

            "Well," I say slowly, "I guess with the traditional vows I'd be offering my kindness and courage you'd be offering your wisdom and protection, right?"

            She snorts. "Right. But that's traditionally what a head of house would offer the bride. It's this super old formula for a wizard from a noble house who was literally offering to protect her." She shakes her head. "But what does that mean for us? Is it legally binding? Like... Do I have to fight a duel for you?"

            "Do you want to switch lines?"

            She shakes her head.

            I give her hand a tug to make her look at me and then I peer at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you saying you wouldn't fight a duel for me?"

            She squares her shoulders. "Of course I would. If you couldn't handle someone I'd definitely kick their ass for you." She looks me straight in the eye. "But I don't want it to be because I'm legally supposed to. I want it to be my choice–because I want to keep you safe, not because some certificate says I have to."

            For a few seconds we sit there, just staring at each other. And then I heave a sigh, all the worry that had been nagging since Donald showed at the airport, coursing out of me with that breath. She's not running away. We're still in this together.

            Virginia bites her lip, her expression turning worried. "Was that too much? I didn't mean to dump everything on you all at once. I just–"

            I press a finger over her lips. I can't help it–I giggle. "I'm just... so relieved. I was afraid you were going to back out or something crazy and that you'd have to give up your magic and your whole family and me and–"

            "What?" She grabs both my hands. "No. Definitely not doing that."

            "Good." I lean my forehead against hers. "Because I would miss you."

            She lets out a long breath. "So... what am I offering you?"

            Closing my eyes, feeling the warmth of her face close to mine, her fingers clasped in my hands, I think about Virginia. Headstrong and sometimes lazy, sure. But also loyal to a fault and protective. If you're one of the people she cares about, she'll take on actual literal monsters for you. She'll keep your secrets. She'll tell you hers. She's had my back all these years. She's helped me navigate the world of magic. When I've had to hide so much of my life from my family, she's been the person I could share everything with.

            I open my eyes, look into hers, and a smile spreads over my face. I know what to say. "How about friendship and affection?"

            Joy and relief wash over her features like someone's announced that classes are cancelled. She squeezes my hands. "That's perfect."

            Virginia leaps to her feet, tugging me along with her. There's a huge grin on her face. "Come on! We've got a non-wedding to get ready for."

 

#

 

It feels a bit funny to be standing in the middle of Virginia's backyard in a prom dress holding a basket filled with blue and orange ribbons and an ear of corn–but here I am. Next to me Virginia's in the same plum-coloured gown she was decked out in a few weeks ago when we were laughing and dancing with all our schoolmates. Her basket's got a tree branch and some black and gold ribbons. I really don't know what to make of the tree branch, but Viginia looks lovely and I'm so grateful to have her next to me, to know she's found a way to go through with this that doesn't make her miserable, that doesn't make her want to run away.

            William is waiting a short ways ahead of us, with Virginia's parents standing on one side and Donald and Ellen on the other. When William gives a nod, we walk in lockstep towards him down an imaginary aisle. I dart a glance at her. Her shoulders are relaxed and she's smiling again; she doesn't look worried anymore.

            We come to a halt in front of William and then turn to face each other. I can feel the blush creeping up my cheeks as William starts to run through the lines of the ceremony.

            "...and uphold the values of honour and loyalty. And," he continues, "since you're both entering into this union of your own free will..." He pauses to glance up at us, a sly smile tugging at his lips. "Or free-ish anyway, I ask you to present the gifts you've brought for each other."

            Just like I've been coached, I raise the basket clutched in my left hand. And then I smile and look right into Virginia's eyes. "I give you my friendship and my affection."

            She reaches out and clasps the handle of my basket with her right hand. Then, with her left she raises her own basket. "I give you my friendship and my affection." She bites her lip but her eyes stay locked on me.

            Now it's my turn to reach out and grasp the handle of her basket with my right hand so that our wrists are crossed. William and Ellen move to either side of us and drape the ribbons from the baskets over our hands.

            "As two streams join to form a river," William says, "so your two lives join to create something greater than they were. One family and one future, for one year and one day are ye bound." He places a hand on each of our shoulders. "Congratulations, you two!" Everyone breaks into applause. We specifically asked William not say "you may kiss the bride" or anything like that since Virginia was embarrassed about kissing in front of her family.

            Virginia looks at our bound hands and then back up at me and laughs. Her laughter is clear and crisp and better than wedding bells.

            There's a round of hugging and congratulations and then Virginia's dad claps his hands and announces that there's corn on the cob for lunch and then we all need to scramble to get ready for tonight's barbeque extravaganza. But before Virginia and I can file into the house, Donald snags us both. "Wait up. I got you a little something." Virginia's nose wrinkles but before she can object he waves his hand and says, "Don't worry, it's totally a non-gift."

            By the look on her face it's obvious that that doesn't reassure her.

            Donald holds out a manila envelope. Virginia give it a skeptical look. "It's safe," Donald says. "I swear."

            Warily, Virginia take the envelope and tugs out its contents–a single piece of paper. It's a wedding certificate with our names on it. And it's all in crayon.

            A snort of laughter escape Virginia. "Thanks."

            Donald grins. "Oh and here's the best part... it's in disappearing ink. Give it a year and a day and you'll be holding a blank sheet of paper."

            "Thanks," she says again. "You mind going in ahead of us? We'll be there in a few."

            He makes a face like he's afraid of witnessing something gross. "I'm out of here. Just wait till I'm in the house before you make out or whatever."

            With a snort, Virginia tosses one of the baskets at him, but he dodges and dashes into the house. She shakes her head.

            I turn back to her and smile. "That went well."

            She nods. "Yeah. We survived the non-wedding once and for all." And then she takes a deep breath and takes both of my hands.  "Look," she says, "I know I'm still kind of bad at this, but you know you're my first pick. Every time."

            I squeeze her hands. "We do make a good team."

            "The best." And then she leans in and kisses me.

            Giddiness swirls through me like the first time I cast a spell. I wrap my arms around Virginia and pull her close. The certificate doesn't mean anything, not really. What we do with our lives has nothing to do with what's on that paper. But I hope that in a year and a day we'll still be like this, a team, closer than friends, happy to see our names side by side.

 

**The End**

 


End file.
